We live in a generation that craves acceptance. It's a complete undertaking of our generation of millennials! Whether we realize it or not, we all seek it. From online acceptance- the likes, friends, followers- even into our own personal lives: acceptance from friends, parents, employers, significant others, whatever/whoever it may be, we lose track of the concept, the truth, that the only one whose acceptance matters- is God's.
God didn't intend for us to seek acceptance from the world. He wants our lives to mirror Jesus, to not aspire to be the world- but to love the world anyway. Jesus did this. He looked past the fault of the world, and instead of embracing the lifestyle, he chose to die on the cross so that the sins of the world could be forgiven. And coincidentally, the only man who actually lived in perfection ended up being rejected in his own hometown. Not accepted. Jesus did not strive for acceptance, and he was rejected, but because he was made in the likeness of God and only sought to please God, he had the love in his heart to give his life for the ones who did not accept him- despite it all.
In Luke Chapter 4 (NIV) at verse 14, it says, "I have come in my father's name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name you will accept him. How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God?"
It's vital for us to realize that when we put our relationships on God with pause and focus on the acceptance of the world, an atmosphere of sinful acceptance is created in our hearts. This is exactly what we should be guarding our hearts against. If we live our lives only seeking acceptance from the world, we're gonna end up broken, and empty- because in order for the world to accept you, it'll take everything you have, and are. If we surrender to the world, we lose our salvation, relationship with God, and an eternity in heaven. 1 John 3:7 (NIV) says: "Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray." God doesn't want us to try to win the acceptance of the world's sinners, he just needs us to love them. We have proof of this a little later in 1 Corinthians 13:6 (NIV). "Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices in the truth." We don't have to chase the things of the world to be there for and love the world like Jesus did.
The moment we begin to work towards God's acceptance, and decide to live our lives out as mirrors of Jesus Christ, our hearts go through a transformation. They develop into diligent hearts, which is a trait that we, as disciples of God, develop in order to please him in all we do.
So, what really is your heart's desire? To work on having a beautifully crafted and diligent heart, with an ache to please God- or aches to please the lost world around us? When we decide to become more like Jesus and to make the gain on our walk with God, we realize that there is only one true form of acceptance that matters. And that acceptance is God's.
